Tales from Dunwall
by Sorceress of the Nile
Summary: A series of drabbles from the time when Dunwall was at its lowest. Follows the path of two very different assassins, one longing for his honor and revenge on those that had betrayed him and the other doing what she must in order to survive a desolate, plague ridden city. M for now.
1. Chapter 1

Me: So, thanks to the very honest reviews of MDGeistMD02 and The Fox Familiar, I decided that I was going to rewrite it and try again. Hopefully this is better and more welcomed then the first post. And in reply to MDGeistMD02; I was intending on the first chapter being like the 'Tales from Dunwall' videos that I had found on Youtube. Though, it didn't really work and I decided that this was way better. I will say that the way the 'Tales from Dunwall' are like a continuous narrative. So hopefully you like this version better. :)

I only own my OC(s)

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"Mother!"

Flames were everywhere. The inferno bit at her deathly pale skin and the smoke forced the air from her small lungs. She had to find Delilah! Her big sister was still trapped behind the flames.

"Delilah! Iolanthe! Where are you!" Adela managed to shriek, before breaking into a fit of coughing. She gave a surprised yelp when she was scooped up and carried away just as a beam from the roof fell on the spot she had been standing on. The pair leapt from the house fire through a window and both coughed as they collapsed on the ground. The six year old gasped, taking in and welcoming the cooler night air to the suffocating heat of the fire. Adela looked over to see the face of her twelve year old brother, Will in the eerie light. Fark coughed again and looked up at her.

"You alright Adela?" She managed to nod as footsteps came. Adela was swept up into the arms of her mother as her other sister, Iolanthe lingered slightly behind. Adela glanced around, failing to find Delilah.

"Mama, where's Delilah?" Her mother didn't reply. She only embraced her tighter and wept in silence. Fark stood and placed a hand on their mother's shoulder. Adela looked at her mother again.

"Mama?"

"Delilah's dead, Adela." Iolanthe said bluntly, making Fark glare at her and their mother weep even more. Adela looked at the other girl.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that she isn't coming back. She's never coming back, just like Father." That made Fark snap.

"You're acting like you don't even care! She was your sister, just like she was our sister!" Iolanthe opened her mouth to retort, but her mother cut her off.

"Enough! We are still alive. Losing Delilah is tragic, but I do not want to spend time arguing." Adela had moved closer into her mother's arms when the older two began to argue. Fark nodded.

"I'm sorry Mother." Iolanthe swallowed before apologizing also. The woman nodded.

"Let's get out of here, I don't wish to see the ruins of our home." She scooped up Adela and started to walk off with her. Iolanthe followed close after, but Fark took a moment longer. Adela didn't think of it at the time, but she thought that she saw something silver and shining peeking out of his pocket.

* * *

The fight had sparked with an argument. It was in the courtyard of the training school and a crowd of young boys was gathering as the pair that were throwing punches and kicking. The spectators were cheering and encouraging the two boys that were fighting. Another boy, this one with dark brown eyes and long shaggy dark brown hair pushed though the crowd and pulled the taller boy off the smaller one. The taller boy looked angry that someone had the courage to interfere and whirled around on his heel to look down at the other that had stopped him.

"Why do you cut in?" The boy only glared. The taller of the two demanded why he stepped in again. When the boy didn't reply, the boy pulled back to deliver a punch when the other dodged and pulled the boy's arm back at an awkward angle until he was rewarded with a loud crack and the boy screamed in pain. The boy smirked lightly and pushed him away.

"The next time I will not be so merciful." The tall boy only whimpered and ran off. The crowd muttered and started to break and the smaller boy looked up at the one that had come to his aid.

"T-Thank you." The brunette knelt, placing a hand on the other boy's shoulder. The child had cuts on his face and hands and his left eye was swollen shut.

"Don't mention it, My name is Corvo Attano." The boy grunted.

"I'm Eli. Do... Do you think that we can be friends?" Corvo smiled.

"Of course, Eli."


	2. Chapter 2

Me: I've Returned! So this is for just Adela and I will do Corvo's past like this next chapter. For now I just own my characters. Happy reading!

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Adela sat still on the rough wooden stool, her deep blue eyes staring at the sleeping body of Fark. The fourteen year old had a high fever and from what the nine year old girl had heard from the doctor that her mother had called in, he didn't have long. Fark groaned in his sleep and Adela jumped slightly. Her back was sore from sitting still for so long. The black haired girl looked down at her hands. They had become scratched and rough from living in the rougher district of Dunwall.

"Adela?" She looked up to see Fark looking at her with sad brown eyes. Adela moved her stool closer to his bed.

"I'm right here, Fark." He winced.

"I don't have very long, Adela." His hand took hers and placed a short silver stick into her outstretched hand.

"This was the last thing that Dad left behind. You'll need it more then I will, it's from our land." He instructed her to place her hands on either end of the short stick and she accidentally flipped an unseen switch. Not a moment later, she was holding two scythes that were connected by a long black chain. Fark gave a weary smile at his younger sister.

"Use it well, Adela..." His eyes slipped closed and his breath stilled. The girl sat in numb shock for a moment.

"Fark? Fark!" She dropped the chain scythe and went to her brother, who didn't reply. He was with the Outsider.

* * *

The small family of three buried the young boy by placing his body on a small crude raft and setting the raft up Wenhaven river. Adela clung to her mother's leg as she watched the body of her brother be swept up by the current. After the body disappeared, the family was silent for a long time. Adela hid her face and her mother placed a comforting hand on her head.

"It's alright, Adela." She muttered, though it was more to convince herself then her youngest. Iolanthe grunted and started to walk away when Adela asked if Fark will be okay where-ever he was. Her sister grunted.

"I don't know, Adela, and frankly, I don't care." She stated as she started to walk away again. Her mother watched as Iolanthe's form disappeared back into the small pitiful shack they called a house. After she was gone, Adela was picked up and carried away from the bank.

"Come on, Adela. We're catch cold out here." For the rest of the night, no one spoke.


	3. Chapter 3

Me: This one is meh. I don't really like this one. Anyways, thank you for the MOSTLY kind reviews. I only own my characters who did not appear in the Dishonored game. Enjoy!

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Corvo watched over Eli as they made their way up in the academy. He wasn't afraid to stand up for both himself and Eli, even if it lead to unpleasant consequences. For example;

CRACK!

Corvo was snapped from his thoughts when the whip made contact with his bare back. He had attacked a bully that tried to take advantage of Eli and he got caught defending someone else. The academy's most sacred rule was every man for himself, though Corvo refused to live by that rule.

"That's enough." Corvo glanced back over his shoulder to see the Warden looming over him. The older man pulled the boy to his feet by the ragged coat on his shoulders and marched him out of the room, only to push him into a different room.

"C-Corvo?"

"Eli, you alright?" The small boy nodded.

"You didn't have to stand up for me, Corvo. I'm too weak." Corvo placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You're not weak, Eli. You just haven't gotten your chance yet." Eli didn't look convinced and Corvo suppressed a wince. It didn't go unnoticed by Eli though. Corvo could see Eli's lip tremble. Out of instinct, he reached out and rubbed other boy's hair, like his brother would do.

"I'm alright, Eli. I'm not afraid to fight for what I believe in." He winced.

"Even if it means that I have to suffer the consequences." That didn't get rid of the guilty look in the other boy's eyes, but when Corvo attempted to stand, Eli had draped one of his arms over his shoulder.

"Come on, Corvo, let's get you to the brackets." Corvo only nodded. The taller of the two leaning heavily on the other, Eli and Corvo slowly made their way to the brackets where Corvo was more then happy to lay down and let his injuries slowly heal over.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry this one took a little bit. I had to rewrite and change a few things, but I hope that you guys enjoy it none the less. Thanks to everyone who has given me nice reviews and I only own my characters, not Dishonored. ;)

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Iolanthe had the plague and Adela could tell. No matter how hard her sister tried to hide it, she was sick and soon, she would end up becoming a weeper like all the plague victims that didn't survive. Adela frowned when she heard Iolanthe burst into a fit of coughing as she walked into the room. She was getting more sick as the days passed. The sixteen year old stood when Iolanthe wandered in. She was paler then before and her dark brown hair was greasy.

"A-Adela... C-Can I ask a favor?" She stiffly nodded. Iolanthe's voice was rough and Adela had a difficult time trying to make out what her sister was saying.

"Kill.. Me." Adela's eyes widened.

"What? Iolanthe, you want to die?" The older girl shrugged.

"It's better then ...becoming a weeper. I'm in pain, Adela." The black haired girl bit her lip in hesitation. The pair met eyes and Adela saw the look of pleading that Iolanthe had.

"Adela... Mother won't kill me, please. I know that Fark gave you Father's scythe... and I don't want to be in pain." She swallowed. Slowly, Adela brought out the silver stick and unsheathed the scythe. She had practiced when she had the chance out in the shadows and she would aim for rats and River Krusts on the Wrenhaven, but this was different. She was killing a person, her own flesh and blood for that matter.

"Adela," She looked up when Iolanthe started to cough again.

"I'm sorry that I've been so cold to you over the years. I was selfish and angry. Know that you will always be my little sister and I love you." Adela managed a meek smile.

"I love you too, Iolanthe. Forgive me." Iolanthe nodded slightly and closed her eyes as Adela slashed her flesh with the blade. The blade caught in the rotten wood wall and the girl's body fell with a dull thud. The teenager stared at the body numbly. She had just killed her own sister. The last sibling that she had left. Adela didn't move when she faintly heard running footsteps coming towards the room. She was shaken out of her daze when her mother screamed at the sight of Iolanthe's body.

"Adela... What have you done?" Words caught in Adela's throat as her mother stared at her in horror.

"Mother... I..."

"Adela! Answer me! What did you do?!"

"She asked me too!" Her mother gasped. Adela started to take shallow breaths.

"She had the plague and didn't want to become a weeper. She pleaded me to set her free."

"You murdered her! And with a weapon that I told you not to use."

"Fark gave it to me and I told you; She ASKED me, you won't have let her die. She was in pain!" The pair glared at one another for a moment in silence, until Adela walked over and pulled the scythe from the wall and wiped the blood off with her hand, then sheathed it.

"Where are you going?"

"Away. Far away from here." She snapped. Adela placed the scythe in her left belt loop as she walked out of the room. She snatched a coat and pulled it over her small lean frame.

"Adela!"

"I'm sick of this, Mother." She snapped as she turned to face the older woman.

"I'm not going to sit around and wait to die. I'm not going to be resigned to that fate and I never will."

"Adela..." With her scythe, Adela walked out onto the dark streets outside, not looking back as her mother stood in the doorway of the house. Adela was on her own now.


End file.
